Oh, how the mighty have fallen — Media Matters, the self-styled “watchdog” that spends its days smearing conservatives and running interference for Democrats, is suddenly drowning in legal trouble and staring down the barrel of a financial disaster.
According to The New York Times, the left-wing nonprofit owes roughly $15 million — thanks largely to Elon Musk and a barrage of investigations spearheaded by the Trump administration and Republican attorneys general. Musk, in particular, has been relentless.
He sued Media Matters after its 2023 hit piece claimed X (formerly Twitter) was running corporate ads next to Nazi content. That article triggered an advertiser exodus, with companies like Apple and IBM yanking their campaigns. Musk called the piece a “completely misrepresented” smear designed to sabotage X and said it was an attack on free speech itself.
And unlike most corporate targets who fold when the lawsuits pile up? Musk isn’t settling. He’s appealing every adverse ruling, re-filing cases elsewhere (even overseas in Ireland and Singapore), and keeping the pressure on. Translation: he’s prepared to bleed Media Matters dry in court.
But that’s not their only problem. The Federal Trade Commission — under Trump-appointed chairman Andrew Ferguson — opened an investigation in May into whether Media Matters illegally coordinated advertiser boycotts of X. Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey also launched probes.
Media Matters managed to block the Texas case in federal court and saw Missouri drop its investigation, but those battles still cost the organization nearly $2 million in legal fees.
The group is now laying off staff and desperately trying to fundraise. While president Angelo Carusone insists there are “no plans to close,” even The Times says shuttering entirely is on the table as a last resort.
And here’s the kicker: Media Matters isn’t broke because it lacks donors. This is an outfit that’s been bankrolled by Democratic megadonors like George Soros, shopping mall heiress Deborah Simon, and Bain Capital co-chair Joshua Bekenstein.
It raised $16.5 million in 2022 alone — and Carusone pocketed more than $400,000 in salary. Yet even with that war chest, the legal hit squad Musk and others have unleashed has them cornered.
